NEWSLETTER
The Cubs kicked this weekend off on the wrong foot, with a loss on Friday night, but they have a chance to make it all okay if they win today. After all, a four-game split with the Padres at Wrigley Field after the deadline is just not a very desirable outcome.
To get that third win, though, Jon Lester will have to escort an extremely young lineup across the finish line. But even he’s had an uneven performance lately, with some unusual command issues, so we’ll have to see if he can tighten things up today.
Joey Lucchesi is starting for the Padres today after being scratched from his start with a stomach bug yesterday. Maybe that means he’ll be a little weaker/throw a little softer than usual, but nothing is guaranteed. His last time out, Luchessi walked three batters and allowed three homers in 4.1 IP while striking out just 6. And that’s not really a one-time thing.
He’s basically as beatable as beatable pitchers come, so you can probably expect 6.0 scoreless innings from him today.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (64-46) vs. San Diego Padres (43-70) – Sunday, August 5th at 1:20 CT on WGN, 670 The Score
Game Thread and Series Preview
Your game thread is down in the comments, so let’s have some good, clean (safe-for-work) fun today.
Starting Pitchers
Cubs: Jon Lester (R): 3.22 ERA, 4.66 FIP; 2.02 K/BB
versus
Padres: Joey Lucchesi (R): 3.74 ERA, 4.58 FIP; 2.79 K/BB
San Diego Padres:
- Travis Jankowski, LF
- Manuel Margot, CF
- Eric Hosmer, 1B
- Hunter Renfroe, RF
- Austin Hedges, C
- Freddy Galvis, SS
- Christian Villanueva, 3B
- Cory Spangenberg, 2B
- Joey Lucchesi
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Albert Almora Jr., CF
- Javy Baez, 2B
- David Bote, 3B
- Addison Russell, SS
- Kyle Schwarber, LF
- Willson Contreras, C
- Victor Caratini, 1B
- Jon Lester, P
- Ian Happ, RF
